A spat appeared to be brewing between the DPP and Taipei City's cultural authorities yesterday, following reports that six DPP-controlled cities and counties had decided not to participate in a cultural event sponsored by the Taipei City Government.
Chinese-language media reported yesterday that Kaohsiung City, Kaohsiung County, Tainan City, Tainan County, Pingtung County and Hsinchu County have boycotted the "Asia-Pacific Cultural Metropolis" (亞太文化之都) event, which is being sponsored by Taipei City's Cultural Affairs Bureau. Lung Ying-tai (龍應台), director of the bureau, said yesterday that she had not received any formal notification from other local governments about the issue.
Lung denied media speculation that the activity was designed as a public relations stunt to whip up support for Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and the KMT's candidates in the year-end legislative elections.
The local media had reported that DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (
Responding to the news, Hsieh said yesterday he was merely "publicly" pointing out to local government chiefs that Taipei had adopted a condescending approach in planning the event.
Hsieh said the city's plan was not based on the principle of parity between local governments, saying that the city was treating other local governments as though they were subordinate departments of the Taipei City Government.
Meanwhile, Hung Wan-lung (洪萬隆), head of Pingtung County's cultural affairs bureau, denied that political factors were behind his county's decision not to participate in the event.
Hung said his county had been promoting cultural activities that are different in nature from those being promoted by Taipei city. Hung said he simply couldn't find any suitable event in the agenda in which to participate.
CSBC Corp, Taiwan (台灣國際造船) yesterday released the first video documenting the submerged sea trials of Taiwan’s indigenous defense submarine prototype, the Hai Kun (海鯤), or Narwhal, showing underwater navigation and the launch of countermeasures. The footage shows the vessel’s first dive, steering and control system tests, and the raising and lowering of the periscope and antenna masts. It offered a rare look at the progress in the submarine’s sea acceptance tests. The Hai Kun carried out its first shallow-water diving trial late last month and has since completed four submerged tests, CSBC said. The newly released video compiles images recorded from Jan. 29 to
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to make advanced 3-nanometer chips in Japan, stepping up its semiconductor manufacturing roadmap in the country in a triumph for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s technology ambitions. TSMC is to adopt cutting-edge technology for its second wafer fab in Kumamoto, company chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said yesterday. That is an upgrade from an original blueprint to produce 7-nanometer chips by late next year, people familiar with the matter said. TSMC began mass production at its first plant in Japan’s Kumamoto in late 2024. Its second fab, which is still under construction, was originally focused on
DETERRENCE EFFORTS: Washington and partners hope demonstrations of force would convince Beijing that military action against Taiwan would carry high costs The US is considering using HMAS Stirling in Western Australia as a forward base to strengthen its naval posture in a potential conflict with China, particularly over Taiwan, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. As part of its Indo-Pacific strategy, Washington plans to deploy up to four nuclear-powered submarines at Stirling starting in 2027, providing a base near potential hot spots such as Taiwan and the South China Sea. The move also aims to enhance military integration with Pacific allies under the Australia-UK-US trilateral security partnership, the report said. Currently, US submarines operate from Guam, but the island could
The partisan standoff over President William Lai’s (賴清德) proposed defense budget has raised questions about the nation’s ability to adequately fund its own defense, the US Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in a report released on Tuesday. The report, titled Taiwan: Defense and Military Issues, said the government has increased its defense budget at an average annual rate of 5 percent from 2019 to 2023, with about 2.5 percent of its GDP spent on defense in 2024. Lai in November last year proposed a special budget of about US$40 billion over eight years, and said he intends to increase defense spending to
RSS